Baseball Series Preview: USC Upstate Spartans vs No. 3 Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns enter the weekend 12-0 and stand as one of only two teams in college baseball, along with the USC Trojans, that remain undefeated. This weekend’s series at Disch-Falk Field will be the last warm-up for Texas before they begin the gauntlet that is SEC play next week. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle has mentioned that part of the reason his squad has played a weaker non-conference slate is due to the challenging array that SEC play brings, week-in and week-out. It was noticeable how worn out the Longhorns were at the end of last year’s regular season, and hopefully they will be sitting better health-wise at the culmination of the regular season this year.

USC Upstate would like nothing more than to head into Austin and upset the No. 3 team in the country, and they will pull out all the stops in hopes of doing so. Texas will need to be on their game to secure another series win, as SC Upstate has played at Georgia and at South Carolina in two mid-week games this year and will not come in intimidated.

Can Luke Harrison Get Out of His Slump?

Senior left-handed pitcher Luke Harrison hasn’t performed to the level Texas nor himself would like this year. Harrison was extremely reliable in 2025, and a vital piece to the Longhorns’ campaign last season. In 2026 Harrison has been everything but consistently reliable. He doesn’t one have quality start yet this season, and in each of his three starts, Harrison has made it through fewer innings than the start before. He has gone 5.1 innings, 4.1 innings and 3.1 innings last week. This needs to be a get-right start for Harrison before conference play begins.

Should Harrison continue not to have effective starts, he will likely lose his weekend role. Senior Ruger Riojas and Sophomore Dylan Volantis have proven to be dominant weekend starters. Harrison is the one question mark, and if Texas wants to return to Omaha, they need to be able to count on all of their starting pitching. The positive news for the Longhorns is that freshman Sam Cozart has looked phenomenal in his mid-week starts. Across his three starts, Cozart has allowed just 2 earned runs in 13 innings. In his start on Tuesday versus Houston Christian, he went five innings, striking out six and giving up just one hit and one run. Should Harrison continue to struggle, look for Cozart to be given an opportunity to fill a weekend starting role.

Protect Jonah Williams and Anthony Pack at All Costs

Texas has found their corner outfielders of the present and the future. Freshman Anthony Pack has been tremendous from the start of this year. Pack is currently batting .378 while being good in either right field or left field, depending on where he is asked to play. Pack will likely hit a wall as all freshman do, but it is remarkable what he is doing given his outfield in high school didn’t even have a fence. Pair that with the fact that playing in right field at The Disch is one of the more challenging spots in the country.

Jonah Williams was slated to be the starting right fielder entering the season, but injuries have slowed that down. When Williams can’t play in the field, Pack starts in RF, and when he does play, Pack plays in left field. To be that versatile in the outfield as a freshman is very impressive. Since Williams returned, his bat has been extremely valuable to the Texas offense, and Pack has done the same for the bottom of the order. Should Pack and Williams stay healthy all year, the Longhorns will have a complete 1-9 lineup to go along with a great outfield defense.